E. S. Whitney, niece of Hiram Hill, wrote from Lawrence, Kansas Territory to her uncle in Massachusetts. Whitney reported that money was scarce; the family was living in a hotel in town and they had begun renting their house. Her husband, Thaddeus Whitney, was unable to collect debts owed to him in order to travel to Pikes Peak. They all had recently suffered from an illness, but Thaddeus had begun building a new home on New Hampshire street.